The Hill reports that John Cornyn and other Republicans in Washington, D.C. are trying to recruit Joe Scarborough to run for Senate as a Republican in Florida, GOP woos ‘Morning Joe’ for Fla. Senate:

Republicans in Washington are trying to recruit Joe Scarborough to run against Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) next year.

Sen. John Cornyn (Texas), who heads the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), told The Hill on Thursday that he has talked to Scarborough a couple times about a Senate bid. And he indicated he’s still working on persuading the MSNBC host to run for the upper chamber.

I say NO WAY (note to readers, on the internet all CAPS signifies indignation and outrage) to Morning Joe.

It is bad enough when the NRSC backs milquetoasty RINOs like Charlie Crist.

But recruiting a founding member of the No Labels group is a step way too far. Joe Scarborough already said he wanted no part of you, what don’t you understand about “no labels”?

“What man or mouse with a fully functioning human brain and a résumé as thin as Palin’s would flirt with a presidential run? It makes the political biography of Barack Obama look more like Winston Churchill’s, despite the fact that the 44th president breezed into the Oval Office as little more than a glorified state senator.”

http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1

If John Cornyn wants to rip this party apart, then he has found the way. Does he want our energy and money devoted to stopping a GOP senatorial candidate, or stopping Barack Obama?

The fact that the NRSC even is considering recruiting Joe Scarborough leads me to believe the bloggers at Not One Red Cent will be back in action soon. And maybe I’ll join them.

So tell me, who is the next Marco Rubio in Florida?

Update: Commenter Viator suggests that this person is the next Marco Rubio. He was on my Top 10 List in November. What do you think?

Update No. 2 – Per the comments, Cornyn says he spoke with Scarborough about running in New York, not Florida. Is that any better?

Uh Oh, per commenter PasdenaPhil, Scarborough is confirming the original story at The Hill that he was approached about Florida, contrary to Cornyn:

MSNBC host Joe Scarborough on Friday said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) has asked him about running against Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) in 2012.Scarborough said in an interview with The Hill, “John suggested last month that I consider running for the Senate against Bill Nelson. His intent was clear and unambiguous and echoed his quotes in The Hill. However, I love the job I have and have no intention of running for the Senate.”

Comments

Wow. I've been on the fence about Senator Cornyn, but no more. Anyone who thinks that the token ex-RINO of MSNBC needs to be wooed to run is too establishment to be saved. I'm definitely going to put heat in the other direction next time he's up for re-election.

It is beginning to look more and more like the GOP has already surrendered for 2012 and is focused on making sure no conservative pulls off a surprise win. The game is to shape the landscape for a 2016 run by "Jebbie".

Those of you who go apoplectic every time someone like me urges fellow conservatives vote 3rd party (which is actually 2nd party) when confronted by yet another Assistant Democrat should think again. What will it take to wake you up?

You seem to believe that the NRSC's goal is stopping Barack Obama. It seems to me that their goal is to stop the Tea Partiers more than anything. They view Rubio as a failure and want to do anything they can to stop the Senate from getting more guys like him. They'd rather have another Ted Kennedy than another Rubio if it came to that. Look at the facts–the Senate Republicans are scions of the welfare/warfare state, not limited government or fiscal responsibility.

We have to purify the Party before we can defeat the Progressives, and we have to defeat the Progressives before we can hope to win the War. It is a multi-year, even Generational, conflict. If the Republican Elites try to go down this path, then defeating them must take first priority.

Don't worry. Remember what happened the last time the NRSC tried to pick our Senate candidate? Those idiots have exactly zero clout with grassroots Florida Republicans. Joe Scarborough? Now that's funny right there.

The NRSC phone number is (202) 675-6000. I just called them, gave them my name and phone number, and told them politely: "I'm at my wit's end. I'd thought that Cornyn and others had learned their lesson, but now Cornyn is trying to recruit the spiritual heir to Charlie Crist in Florida. As long as this sort of crap continues I will not donate another cent to the NRSC. I guess all my Senatorial money will be going to Jim DeMint".

I suggest you do the same, since I think a phone call has a little more impact than an email.

I dunno, I just went over to the NRSC website so I could give Cornyn another ration of crap and they are denying this via Twitter. If you read the article in The Hill, Cornyn is not quoted as saying he's trying to recruit Scar, but that they asked him if he'd talk to Scar and he said "sure".

I'm a staunch republican and I do not understand your anger at those who dislike Palin. She is a zero, a celebrity, right up there with all the other lightweights who have their own reality TV show. I say good for Joe for pointing her failings out to the world.

Rumor control: Last cycle, Joe and I talked about his interest in NY, not FL Senate race, so this story is wrong. Plenty of good candidates looking at the FL Senate primary & NRSC is neutral. Confident that any one of them can win in general.

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I think that the piling on of Cornyn on this particular issue should stop. However, I suspect he will give us many other opportunities to pile on in the days ahead.

Running RINOs in blue states is abject surrender. The Dems have no reservations about campaigning in red states which is why they have taken control of most cities. I'm in the Mark Levin camp that advocates fighting for every inch, everywhere, at all times. I can't tell how stupid it sounds when I hear Republicans and conservatives exclaim: "California is a lost cause. We ought to just give it back to Mexico." Who do we give NY, NY, CN, IL, MI, RI, TX (yes, open borders TX), NM and the other states back to?

"I'm a staunch republican and I do not understand your anger at those who dislike Palin. She is a zero, a celebrity, right up there with all the other lightweights who have their own reality TV show. I say good for Joe for pointing her failings out to the world."

Running RINO's in blue states is good strategy. You want the collectivists to have to spend money fighting themselves. If you give them an easy win, they can spend the money to defeat conservatives elsewhere.

C'mon, Phil. That's basic common sense.

What we DO NOT WANT is the NRSC spending money conservatives sent to them to support socialists under the GOP banner. That is why we send our money to DeMint instead.

Common sense? What IS common sense is to give voters a real alternative and then SELL the difference. That's the main problem with Republicans who don't stand for anything, they won't fight for anything either. It's becomes about "electability" as if that is a virtue worth fighting for.

It's time to put the GOP out of its pathetic misery and move on with a new party.

"(note to readers, on the internet all CAPS signifies indignation and outrage)"

I could year you YELLING from here! 😉

My person of choice for president, not merely senator of Florida, if he were interested, is Allen West. I love Sarah Palin, and would work for her to get elected. However, Rep. Allen West is the most incredibly honest, sincere, strong, and humble politician I have ever seen or heard of. He is a true leader. I would be happy to have my son serve under him, and would trust him like no other to keep his promises and get this nation on the right track.

I am 99.9% certain he is not interested in running for president – yet. He truly wants to serve the Floridians he represents – another great quality of this man's: he takes his promises and his mission seriously. He might choose the senate, but I hope he goes for president. He would be quite formidable.

He is the one to watch, should we be blessed enough to NOT have Obama for 4 more years.

The GOP insiders can put whoever they want up for primaries, but they have to get through the TEA Party first. Not all will make it.

Another thought – Scarborough being a Democrat, he'll be approached by the Democrats to accept any offer he gets. Because they know he'll drain fund and split Republicans forcing a lot of work to be done by the TEA Party to take him down. If he loses the primary, he may ultimately cause the Democrats to get the seat and if he wins, he will hand the Democrats the seat. Win-win for the Left. Thanks, GOP!